The brief was for a traditional kitchen, but brought forward in time. Nicola, the client wanted all the mod cons, but didn’t like the sleek modern style of so many of today’s kitchens. The old kitchen was a galley style, which had a lot of workspace, but because of wall-hung cupboards, much of it was unusable. The layout also left Nicola carrying pans of boiling water from the hob at one end of the kitchen to the sink at the other, which, with young children underfoot, was getting dangerous. And she hated the pebble-effect flooring.

Nicola handed the design process entirely over to Tim. Reassured that he used to be a chef, she left everything, right to to the choice of handles, to Tim. The result is an understated timeless kitchen that works, even when Nicola and her children are cooking together – there’s space for everyone and she feels it’s standing the test of time. Discrete Gaggenau appliances add a contemporary look, a wine cooler provides space for husband Philip’s passion and Nicola got the coffee machine she was desperate for. The only compromise was having to forego an instant hot water tap to leave space for a dishwasher, but with an induction hob that boils water in no time at all, it’s a compromise everyone’s happy to have made.

A glass extension floods the space with light and the curved edges mean moving around in the space is easy. Plenty of storage space including a large coat cupboard for all the children’s school things keeps it tidy. A breakfast bar means it’s a room where the whole family can spend time together, instead of Nicola being locked away cooking and then presenting finished meals.